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The latest version of the powerful, user friendly 3D modeling software available for Windows

The latest version of the powerful, user friendly 3D modeling software available for Windows

Vote: (31 votes)

Program license: Trial version

Developer: Trimble

Version: 64-bit 15.3.331

Works under: Windows

Vote:

Program license

(31 votes)

Trial version

Developer

Version

Trimble

64-bit 15.3.331

Works under:

Windows

Pros

  • Simple interface
  • Lots of designing tools and resources
  • Works with other CAD files

Cons

  • Cannot make curves for some reason

SketchUp Pro is a 3D modeling program that allows you to make blueprints, architecture designs or product designs with ease. This is considered a mid-tier program because it's accessible for many newcomers but has professional tools for making commercial products and designs. While there are some limitations, many people who find this program quite useful.

Primary Features

SketchUp Pro is a 3D modeling program made to create 3D models for anything from buildings and neighborhoods to products and interior designs. It can work with files from other Computer-Aided Design, or CAD, programs. This allows you to use tools from another program and then finish the design in SketchUp. You can also import textures and images from terrain and satellite data. This makes it much easier to create a local area and then add your design into it.

There are many solid modeling tools that allow you to work with numerous materials. You can easily choose between metal, rock, wood and other common materials. This will make the design appear realistic and will show you what that material would look like in reality.

Changing materials and creating shapes is quite easy with this program. You can choose to start with common shapes and then manipulate them into the form you need, or you can use the large library of resources to find similar models that require very little manipulation. This gives you creative freedom along with the ability to make your designs faster than ever.

You can move the camera around with ease. Just click the button and move the camera as needed. This is useful for designing and also allows you to show other users the product or design from various angles.

Commercial License

SketchUp Pro comes with a commercial license and this is very important for a CAD program. Many other CAD programs that are similar to SketchUp don't offer this type of license. A commercial license allows you to make designs for any purpose. You can use them for your business, to sell to people, for freelance work and much more. This license means that you can use the program however you want and to get paid for your work.

A noncommercial license, which is more common with CAD programs like this, only allows you to create nonprofit designs. You can likely use it for a nonprofit business, but in general this limits how you can use the program.

No Curves

The one thing that really separates this from top-tier CAD programs is the inability to make curves. For some reason you cannot make curves with SketchUp Pro. There are some resources that are curved that you can use to get around this, but you cannot manipulate them. This program is specifically for straight lines.

While you can still use this for many designs, this strange limitation might leave some of your designs feeling a little crass or underwhelming. You should be able to get around this by creating an object in another CAD program and then importing it here, but that's extra work and no one likes doing extra work.

Simple Interface

This is a surprisingly accessible 3D modeling program that many newcomers can comfortably use. This is a good 3D program for those with little or no experience because it walks you through how to use the tools and makes everything easy to find. There is a bit of a learning curve when it comes to making the most of this program, but it's not as hard as other 3D modeling programs.

Pros

  • Simple interface
  • Lots of designing tools and resources
  • Works with other CAD files

Cons

  • Cannot make curves for some reason